I want to mention the birthdays of two men today,August 20,  the author Arthur Porges and the artist R. R. Van Dongen.  Yes, I know it’s Lovecraft’s birthday.  There will be a separate post devoted entirely to him later.

First, Arthur Porges (1915-2006), who was a short story writer.  Porges didn’t limit himself to science fiction and fantasy.  He was quite adept at mysteries. Ash-Tree Press published a collection, The Mirror,  that has since been released as an ebook.  I read it not long after it came out, and while the details have faded, I enjoyed all the stories.

In checking Porges’s bibliography, I discovered a number of collections of his work, including science fiction, fantasy, and mystery stories.  Sadly, they are not available electronically.  I ordered several and will report back to you.

Artist H. R. Van Dongen (1920-2010) had a long career illustrating science fiction and fantasy magazines and paperback covers. I’ll let his work speak for itself.  Click images to enlarge.